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In this article I address issues associated with online courses, focusing on introductory psychology. Data from 2 studies compared student attrition, performance, and evaluation in classroom sections and online sections. In Study 1, students chose to enroll in online or classroom sections; in Study 2, students were assigned to a section. Data indicate that attrition was similar in the 2 instructional formats. In Study 1, online students scored nonsignificantly lower on course tests and the final exam. Online students were more likely to fail the course. However, online students evaluated the course similarly to the classroom students. In Study 2, performance and evaluation were not different for the online and the classroom sections.
Stefanie B. Waschull (Sun,) studied this question.